Nina's Story
Dear family, friends, and colleagues,
Our family went through a significant personal challenge for most of 2022, with our youngest daughter Nina spending more than 8 months in the local Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide South Australia. We want to give something back to the hospital and community services that helped us during this time, and provide support to other families going through similar circumstances.
In early February 2022, our daughter Nina, who was only 6 months old at the time, contracted a rare illness called infant botulism from dust particles in the air near our home. This illness had a proud impact on her neurological system, ultimately leading to paralysis, respiratory failure, and ventilation for over 6 months. Our family endured a significant battle in navigating the medical system and ultimately finding our way on a path to recovery.
Reflecting on our journey, it was only through the support of the incredible staff and services made available through our local hospital and community that we were able to endure and ultimately come out the other side. Nina is still going through rehabilitation, but should ultimately have no long-term major health consequences from this illness which we are very grateful for.
We cannot help but acknowledge however that many other families endure even greater hardships, often compounded by financial difficulties or long commutes between the hospital and their home residence. The financial and personal disruption caused by a significant illness within the family can be immense, and is something we witnessed first-hand with other families we met during our time in the hospital system.
Nina and our family did not get to meaningfully celebrate her 1st birthday due to her condition at the time, and so as we approach her 2nd birthday this month, we feel compelled to give back to the community services that helped support us through this time, and to help other families that might be going through something similar to what we did.
We recognize that in our own lives, we often face financial constraints and have our own obligations. However, if you find it within your means to contribute even a small donation, your generosity will touch the lives of many of those who need it most.
Ultimately, we also simply want to make Nina proud by generating something positive from the circumstances that she and we as a family had to go through.
To read more about the work that the WCH Foundation does, please read here: https://wchfoundation.org.au/who-we-are/about-us/
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your support.
Yours sincerely,
Aaron, Brooke, Eve, and Nina Garry!
For clarification, none of the donations are intended for use by our family. In fact, we have committed to matching any donation received dollar for dollar up to the target donation amount.
My Updates
Fundraising supported by ABN Australia
Tuesday 4th Jul
Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation Objectives
Tuesday 4th JulThe Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation (WCH Foundation) improves the health and wellbeing of women, children and families under the care of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and its associated Health Network.
The WCH Foundation relies on generous contributions from the community to fund initiatives that support clinical care like our ‘Laklinyeri’ Beach House, deliver programs such as our extensive Arts in Health program, support the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment, provide immediate emergency support to families in need, and invest in vital medical research.
Our ongoing support has a lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of children and families who rely on the services of the Hospital and Women’s and Children’s Health Network. Our support reaches families all over South Australia, as well as families from the Northern Territory, Broken Hill and the Sunraysia Region of Victoria who need to travel to the WCH for specialist treatment.
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Adelaide toddler's emotional farewell from hospital after spending half of life in treatment | 7NEWS
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Infant Botulism FAQs
Tuesday 4th JulFor more information on the specific illness that Nina contracted, you can visit https://www.infantbotulism.org/general/faq.php
Infant botulism is the infectious (intestinal) form of botulism, which results when swallowed spores of a particular bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) colonize the baby's large intestine and produce botulinum toxin in it. Botulinum toxin causes weakness and loss of muscle tone because it blocks the nerve ending's ability to signal the linked muscle to contract.
The illness often begins with constipation but is usually first noticed as difficulty feeding (sucking and swallowing), a weak and altered cry and diminished facial expression. In severe cases, such as Nina's the condition can lead to paralysis, respiratory collapse, and intervention required from a ventilator.
The prognosis for infant botulism patients is excellent with anticipated full and complete recovery. Recovery results from regrowth of the nerve endings that then are able to signal the muscles to contract. Botulinum toxin does not penetrate into the brain, and so infant botulism patients retain all the intelligence, athletic ability, musical ability, sense of humor and orneriness with which they were born.
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